The Beginning is the End is the Beginning
by sparkyCSI
Summary: As the Volturi threaten the Cullens again, a mysterious vampire appears. What could her presence mean and how does this all connect to an ancient secret? Please read and review! Chapter 5 finally up!
1. Echoes from the Past

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own any characters from Twilight or from the Mercedes Lackey "Heralds of Valdemar" series. I only own Artemis, Apollo and Delphina and any other characters that you don't recognize. So, if you think I'm making any money from this, you are sadly mistaken. :p_

**Author's Note:**_ Okay, so this is a cross over story between Twilight and the Mercedes Lackey series, "The Heralds of Valdemar". It came to me and I totally can't get it to go away, so I'm going to write this and post it. Updates may be sparse, since I am working on a couple of other stories, but I hope everyone likes it! Please read and review. Reviews are like crack to my muse. She can't live without it. Also, the story title comes from a Smashing Pumpkins song, so I don't own that either. :(_

**Chapter 1.**

**Echoes from the Past**

"_Aro! Aro!" the little girl squealed as her brother came into view. "Pony ride?"_

_The black haired child looked at the toddler who was gazing at him in adoration. "Sure, Arte, but my name is Aros," he told her, trying to get her to pronounce his first name correctly. He didn't expect her to, since she had just had her second birthday, but he did want to try._

_Artemis nodded happily. "Aro," she said with a smile. Sighing, Aros gave up and let her clamor onto his back for her daily pony ride._

Artemis opened her eyes, the memory bringing back the all too familiar pain of her childhood innocence. The pain of how bright and sunny her world was as she grew up, the pain of knowing what she had to give up. She shook her head, determined not to let the memories overwhelm her as much as she had allowed in the past. She gazed at the setting sun, her golden eyes gleaming from atop her hiding place at the top of the trees in the Amazon rain forest. She knew that she was going to have to leave, sooner than later, but the she was reluctant to let go of her hard won sense of peace. She still didn't understand why those memories were still so strong after so many years.

Sighing, she gracefully jumped down from the tree as the sun vanished over the horizon, already making plans for her necessary journey north.

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Bella was waiting on Alice, somewhat impatiently, in the designer clothing store. "Alice? Are you done yet?" she called out. _I hate shopping!_

Alice stepped out of the dressing room, showing off the sophisticated outfit she had chosen. "I just love shopping," she giggled.

Bella sighed in defeat while nodding her head that she liked the outfit that Alice had chosen. She knew that Alice was going to keep her trapped here until she was satisfied that Bella had a wardrobe to make a starlet green in envy. "Really Alice, we've bought enough to clothe us for at least a year. Can we go home now," she almost whined.

Alice looked at her in exasperation. "Bella, you need to stop being a tomboy. We are shopping and you are going to like it!" she ordered as she thrust another handful of towards her.

"Fine," Bella said petulantly as she grabbed the clothes and started towards the dressing room. When she entered it, she stared morosely at the clothes that Alice had picked out for her. All dresses. Not that she didn't like to wear a dress every now and then, but she was more a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl. "When is she going to learn that I prefer to wear jeans?" she muttered to herself. She struggled into the dress, not sure if she was wearing it properly. Finally, with a last wiggle of her hips, she got the dress settled, but wasn't sure if she wanted to buy it.

"Alice?" she asked as she walked out of the room. "Is this on…" she trailed off when she saw that the older vampire's face was blank. By the stillness of her features, she was certain that Alice was having a vision. A few seconds later, animation came back to her face and she snapped out of her trance.

"That looks gorgeous on you," Alice gushed before grabbing Bella's hand. "But, we have to go." She quickly moved a stunned Bella to the dressing room and instructed her to change as quickly as possible. "I'll go pay while you get dressed," she said as she rushed out of the room.

Bella dressed somberly and by the time she walked outside, she saw that she wasn't quick enough. Alice was already in the car, the engine of the sleek yellow sports car purring gently. "What's wrong, Alice? What did you see?"

Alice just shook her head. "Just call Edward and make sure that everyone is there, including Nessie and Jacob."

Bella looked at her, wishing that she had Edward's ability to read thoughts. Reading Alice's face, she knows that she wouldn't get anything more out of her best friend, so she began to dial her cell phone instead.

When they drove up to the glass house in the woods by Forks, Washington, all the lights were on. Alice had driven as if the hounds of hell were chasing them and they had made it back home in record time.

Before Bella could open the car door, Edward was next to her, his gaze locked with Alice's as he obviously scanned her thoughts. Bella looked between them, sighing in frustration. "You know, it's not fair that you're letting Edward know and you wouldn't tell me," she said with a frown.

Alice laughed. "It's not like I have a choice," she shot back good-naturedly.

Bella's eyebrow rose as she smirked and quickly extended her shield to include Alice, effectively cutting off Edward's ability to read the pixie haired vampire's thoughts. "Yes, you do," she responded as Edward rolled his eyes.

"Let's go inside," he said, ignoring Bella's growing smirk. As they followed him, shopping bags in hand, Alice and Bella laughed. When they entered the living room, they were not shocked to find everyone standing, varying expressions of worry etching their faces.

Carlisle looked at Alice, knowing that in order for her to cut short her shopping trip, she must have scene something vitally important. "Alice, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"The Volturi," she responded simply. "They are trying to find a way to destroy us."

Jasper nodded as he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around his wife. "I expected something like this after the whole thing with Nessie," he said as he looked at Edward and Bella's daughter, who was now fully grown. "They've lost face and probably some measure of control after we defeated them ten years ago."

Alice nodded. "From what I saw, there is no firm plan yet, other than to find a way to either make us join them or destroy us completely in order to reassert their control over the vampire hierarchy."

Shock shown on every face around the room. "We've got to fight," Emmett finally concluded as Rosalie nodded her agreement.

"Absolutely," she concurred. "They can't control us like that. We follow all the rules; they don't have a leg to stand on."

"Like that will matter to them," Edward said scornfully. "We barely made it through the last confrontation with him."

"When they do try to attack us, they are going to have overwhelming numbers," Esme pointed out. "We are going to have to find many more allies that we did last time."

"But, I can still shield everyone from the offensive mental attacks. That levels the playing field," Bella interjected.

Jasper nodded. "Somewhat, yes. But with their overwhelming numbers will soon take away that advantage. Remember that your shield only protects against mental attacks, not physical and if they get behind your line, the shield becomes ineffective."

Jacob growled softly. "The packs will fight with you," he assured them.

Carlisle shook his head. "No. If possible, I wan this confrontation to happen far, far away from humans."

Jacob smiled. "We will still want to fight," he assured him.

Carlisle nodded, knowing better than to argue with the werewolf. "I'll leave that to you and Sam then. Have whoever wants to fight be prepared to move north, as close to the Artic Circle as possible, but it would be wise to leave some protection here. I want to minimize the amount of collateral damage as much as possible."

"And by leaving a vanguard here, the people will still be protected," Jacob concluded.

"Alice, do you have any general idea of a timeline here?" Carlisle queried.

Alice shook her head. "Not much. Since they are still discussing things, I would say six months to a year at most. The Volturi are not ones to dally once they make up their minds. I'll keep an eye out, but they do know what I can do and they may try to scramble things up." She paused for a second, not sure if she wanted to reveal the rest of it. She caught the look in Edward's eyes and nodded slightly. "There is something else," she said hesitantly. "There is another vampire mixed up in this, but it's cloudy with her."

"What do you mean?" Edward asked.

"I'm not sure. I keep getting flashes of this female vampire, but when I try to focus on her, I can't," Alice admitted. "She just pops up randomly. I've seen her on our side and on the side of the Volturi."

Nessie tapped her lips thoughtfully. "Maybe she is a wild card?" she theorized. "A vampire that could turn the tide of the battle to either side."

"Then wouldn't it be prudent to find her quickly?" Rosalie asked.

Alice sighed. "If I knew more, then yes we could, but I just keep seeing her in a non-descript tropical forest and I've never seen her before in my life." She concentrated on the clearest images she remembered of the vampire and stared at Edward, hoping that he could place a name with her.

Edward studied the image that Alice was projecting thoughtfully. "No, I've never seen her before either. Her eyes are golden, so I'm going to assume that she is a vegetarian like us. She doesn't strike me as the type of vampire that would be with the Volturi."

"Yeah," Bella agreed, "they are all about human blood."

Carlisle looked at them. "I wish there was some way for me to see what you were seeing," he admitted.

Alice smiled as she walked over to the table and grabbed a piece of paper to begin to sketch the woman in her thoughts. When she was satisfied with the drawing, she showed it to Carlisle.

Carlisle studied it and then passed it around the room. "I don't recognize her," he said. The rest of the vampires nodded their head in agreement, so Carlisle thought for moment. "All right, let's start contacting our friends and see what we can do to prepare for the upcoming battle."

With a sense of purpose, the family members disbursed, reach running through a list of vampires that they knew could be trusted to come to their defense.


	2. For Now We Stand Alone

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own any characters from Twilight or from the Mercedes Lackey "Heralds of Valdemar" series. I only own Artemis, Apollo and Delphina and any other characters that you don't recognize. So, if you think I'm making any money from this, you are sadly mistaken. :p_

**Chapter 2**

**For Now We Stand Alone**

After hunting, Artemis made her way back to her house in the middle of the Amazon. She smiled with pleasure as it came into view. _That's the bonus of being immortal,_ she thought to herself as the environmentally friendly glass house welcomed her. She had managed to keep all of the modern necessities that she had come to love, while not being a drain on natural resources. As she walked into the open living room, she settled on the couch and booted up her computer. She smiled as she recalled the day that she had the satellite dish installed so that she could have television and internet. The installer had looked at the house in awe and asked her why she lived in the middle of nowhere. She had responded that she liked her privacy and she didn't allow much to change the environment in the forty square mile area.

As her browser came up, she thought carefully about what her visions were telling her and set the search parameters. As the search ran, she let her mind wander back to her childhood memories, which had been bubbling in the back of her mind all day.

_When Artemis was eight, she started noticing that things were changing. Aros was never around and when she tried to talk to him, he brushed her off as a pesky child. Luckily, her older sisters Delphina and Didyme, and her twin brother Apollo managed to keep her mind off the question of what had happened to the older brother she adored._

_Over the following three years, she rarely saw Aros and she never made time to talk to him, but that was soon about to change. It was in the spring when both Delphina and Didyme were Chosen and name joint Heirs-in-Right. She knew then that Aros would never be made King and his mood reflected that. Something tugged her to find him, to talk to him like she hadn't for a while. So after Delphina and Didyme were installed into the Collegium, she began her search._

_She first wandered the halls of the Old Palace, the part that was original to the building, were all of the royal family had rooms, but she didn't find him, so she moved her search to the palace gardens. After wandering aimlessly for a while, she thought she heard his voice. She moved towards the direction, rounded one of the tall hedges and found him with a group of the courtier's children. Smiling happily, she began to walk towards them until she recognized the noble children as the ones who terrorized the young children in the Artificer's Collegium. _

_Feeling more cautious, she slowed her walk and changed directions, hoping to come up on them unannounced. As she crept closer, she noticed that in the center of the circle of young adults was a small child. Dylin, if she remembered his name correctly. He was the son of a tavern owner in one of the poorest districts of Haven, who had showed amazing abilities in mathematics. She smiled, knowing that the other boys were probably bullying him and Aros had to be protecting him from the horrid boys, who only picked on him because he was slightly built. When she got into hearing range, she was shocked to hear what Aros was saying._

"_Oh, look at the little baby crying," he was sneering. "Maybe we should just send him home to his mother." Aros' smirk grew bigger as the other boys began to laugh. "Oh, wait! His mother abandoned him."_

_Artemis flinched as her image of Aros shattered into a million pieces. She continued to listen to his verbal abuse of the boy until something inside of her snapped. "Stop it!" she yelled as she burst out of her hiding place, her face livid with rage._

"_Get out of here, Arte," he ordered her. "This is none of your business."_

_Artemis stood her ground, her hands clenching into fists as her eyes bored in his. "No," she finally said belligerently._

_Finally, Aros backed down. "I was done here anyway," he sneered again as he turned and his pack of bullies followed him out of the gardens._

_Artemis drew a deep breath, trying to calm herself down before she turned to the frightened boy. "Are you okay?" she asked softly._

_Dylin nodded. "Thanks," he said before running back towards the safety of the Collegium. _

Artemis sighed as the beep of her computer tore her mind back to the present. She glanced at the computer and saw that she was going to be traveling to Washington. _It's been a while since I've been to the States, so this will be interesting,_ she thought. As she shut down the computer so she could prepare to leave, she wondered if she should fly, take her boat or go for safety and stealth and go on foot, per se.

Finally, she decided that if Aros was thinking properly, and there were rare times that he didn't, then he would know that Alice Cullen had probably already seen what he was trying to do and was going to rally the troops. He and the Volturi would be monitoring all of the forms of transit and if he knew where she was going, then he would likely attack sooner. So sighing, she brought out her boxes and quickly packed up her wardrobe for shipping to her property in Oregon.

As she packed, she also made a call to her property management team, thankful that she had the foresight to keep properties all over the world. While the home in the Amazon was her favorite and the one where she spent most of her time, she did like to go out and experience the different cultures that the world provided. Her manager assured her that the house would be ready by the time that she made there in a month. She had even arranged to pick up a car in California, so she could make the last part of the journey in style.

After her wardrobe was packed, she loaded the boxes into her Land Rover and began the drive to the closest city to ship them out and to put the SUV in storage for an unspecified length of time.

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The month following Alice's vision was one of preparation for the Cullen family. With the exception of Bella—who was feeling a bit left out—all of the vampires were contacting their friends to see if they would be willing to make a stand. Rosalie and Emmett had left the day after to scour the world the find anyone that would stand with them.

Alice and Jasper left the following week—Alice letting her visions guide her—and Carlisle and Esme left the week after. Edward and Bella had decided to stay at the house in Forks and were trying to coordinate everyone's efforts so the hunt would be efficient.

Jacob and Nessie were the most involved with getting the packs ready for the upcoming battle by working with Sam to ensure that La Push was not left without guardians. As a result, they spent most of that time on the reservation.

Bella had just gotten off the phone with Carlisle, who had confirmed that Amun would not be joining the fight, but Benjamin would, when Edward walked into the bedroom. She looked up at him, her desire in no way dampened in their decade together. "Benjamin's in," she told him.

Edward nodded. "Good. So that brings the total to how many?"

Bella looked at the computer screen. "Twenty-two."

Edward frowned. "That is not enough. Even with your shielding, they still outnumber us in sheer numbers, so if it came to a physical fight, we're not going to win."

Bella nodded. "I know," she said with worry in her voice. "Why won't they leave us alone?"

"It's quite simple," Edward began. "We made them look bad when we managed to defeat them last time. As a result, dissention in the vampire community has been building and they are losing their power base."

Bella just shrugged. "And we are the only people that are willing to stand up to their tyranny in fifteen hundred years. Great."

Edward smiled as he pulled her into his arms. "We'll be okay," he reassured her.

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Artemis picked up her car in Southern California and soon the sleek sports car was eating up the miles on the highways on the spectacular drive to Astoria, Oregon. She marveled in the changes that had changed the landscape from the one she had seen on her last trip to the States, some fifty years ago. Fifteen hours later, she was pulling up to her house in the woods. She unlocked the door and noticed all of the modern conveniences that were installed in the modest house. She quickly unpacked all of her belongings and checked the time. It was a little after four. She calculated the time that it would take her to drive to Forks and she decided to clean up before she left.

A little after five, she got back into the car for the four hour trip to Washington.

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Bella was enjoying her time in the wilderness. It wasn't often that she and Edward didn't hunt together and sometimes it was nice just to let herself get lost in the game. She inhaled, catching the scent of a large predator nearby, but was interrupted by her phone vibrating in her pocket. Sighing, she withdrew it with annoyance that faded to worry as she read Alice's name on the screen. "Hey," she answered, speaking softly enough not to disturb the animals nearby.

"_Hey,"_ Alice responded. _"When will you be back?"_

"Probably a couple of hours," she answered her. "I take it your back home. Why?"

"_Oh, I just think that it's important all of us to be here tonight,"_ Alice answered vaguely.

"Okay, then I'll finish hunting and head back," Bella assured her before hanging and getting her mind back to the hunt. With a feral smile, she took off to the northwest to stalk her prey.

Two hours later, Bella was back, her golden eyes gleaming in the moonlight. Edward met her at their cabin as she was walking up to the house. "Everyone is back," he said simply.

"I know," she told him. "Alice called me. Do you know what she saw?"

Edward shrugged. "I have no clue," he admitted with a smile. "She's translating the Gettysburg Address into Hindu in her head."

Bella laughed and they both turned to walk towards the front door of the house. As they got closer to the door, both of them tensed when the caught the scent of another vampire. Bella turned to Edward, unease evident on her face. "Anyone you know?"

Edward shook his head and with a grim look on his face, ushered her into the house, to the relative safety of the rest of the family.

* * *

**AN: **_Wow. Thanks for the response guys!!!! Side note, if anyone has seen a green and purple dragon that goes by the name Lexi, can you send her home? My muse is missing and it's driving me crazy!_

_babes93 - I'm glad you like it! I hope you like this chapter as well. :p_

_Maddy - It's a good thing that my muse is gone for you then! I expect this to be 10 or so chapters, so it won't be very long. Maybe that'll help! Thanks! (I'm really trying to work on TWAH, but alas no ideas whatsoever.)_

_Soccer - Thanks! You are getting them in advance so you can make sure that I keep all the canon characters true to form. :D_


	3. Have the People Changed

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own any characters from Twilight or from the Mercedes Lackey "Heralds of Valdemar" series. I only own Artemis, Apollo and Delphina and any other characters that you don't recognize. So, if you think I'm making any money from this, you are sadly mistaken. :p_

**AN: **_So, this delves more into the Valdemar part of the equation, so I hope that it made it clear enough for those who have never read the series! If you have any questions, please review and I will answer them! Also, dialogue like this :dialogue: is Telepathic Speech between two people. :p Also, the title of chapter 2 and this chapter are lines from the song "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning"._

**Chapter 3**

**Have the People Changed?**

When Edward and Bella walked into the living room, he looked at Alice. "Okay, we're all here, so will you please tell us what is going on now?"

Alice smiled. "We're going to have a visitor in forty-nine seconds, but don't worry, she is friendly," Alice assured him.

Edward looked skeptical, but settled back against the wall. True to Alice's word, less than a minute had passed when the doorbell rang. Alice skipped to the door and soon was leading a tall, raven-haired vampire into the room.

The unknown vampire looked around the room, gazing at each of them in return until her golden eyes finally settled on Carlisle. "Mr. Cullen, I'm sorry to intrude on you, but I'm here to help you defeat the Volturi."

There was a stunned silence as the group looked at her in amazement. Alice looked at her in askewness, since the unknown vampire hadn't even introduced herself. She studied her clothes carefully. The vampire was in black leather pants, a fitted blue T-shirt, a leather jacket and dusty boots. "You want to help us overthrow the Volturi?" she asked in amazement.

The vampire nodded her head. "Yes, I do."

Carlisle gazed at her. "May I ask why?"

The vampire smiled. "It's a very long story," she responded, gazing at each of the Cullens in return. "I will gladly share it with you, but before I begin, does anyone need to eat beforehand?" She gazed at Jacob and Nessie as she said this. Both of them shook their heads, so she settled on the couch, more out of habit than out of need.

"I am well aware that what I am about to tell you sounds like a myth, but I beg your indulgence." She sighed as Edward gazed at her, doubt and uneasiness evident in his eyes. He didn't trust her, even though the color of her eyes enforced the fact that she did not drink from humans. His mistrust came from the fact that he was not able to read her thoughts and that disturbed him.

"I know it sounds unbelievable, but I'm going to start this like a fairy tale. Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was country who was ahead of it's time. The land was called Velgarth, which is now called Atlantis, and the country Valdemar. Valdemar was founded by Baron Valdemar who was running from a tyrannical leader that was destroying his homeland." The vampire gazed at Rosalie as she snorted her derision, but she ignored the interruption and went on with the story.

"If you want to know exactly what happened, well then that is story for another time, but in essence Valdemar made a good king and he was worried about the throne going to another leader like the one he fled. He went out and prayed to all the gods he'd ever heard of and his answer was in the form of Companions—guardian spirits who took the form of a white horse. He knew that the Companions would not chose to bond with anyone who was corrupt and thus decreed that the monarch had to be Chosen by a Companion to inherit the throne. Those Chosen were called Heralds. But it wasn't just from the royal family that Heralds were Chosen. It was from people across the land, even in neighboring lands. They all had one thing in common, an unshakeable moral code, so they formed sort of a police force for the country. One that was trusted by all."

Alice nodded her agreement. "That seems like a good plan, that way you always know that your peoples are being treated fairly."

The vampire smiled. "That was the idea. One of the side effects of being Chosen was that if you had any sort of special gifts—like seeing the future, hearing thoughts of other people or being able to communicate mind to mind—they were enhanced by the bond with the Companion." She noticed the startled look on the faces of the coven now listening raptly to her story.

"Anyway, some fourteen hundred years after the founding, Velgarth was finally at peace. Queen Lyra was on the throne enjoying the peace that was established in her mother's reign. Along with her Consort, Herald Wilhelm, they ruled after the death of Queen Selenay and Herald-Prince Darren. She bore five children, Aros, Artemis, Apollo, Delphina and Didyme."

Bella looked stunned. "Her children were named after Greek gods?"

The raven haired vampire laughed, her golden eyes twinkling. "It was the other way around, youngling. But, I'll get to that part of the story." She looked at Carlisle, who looked confused. "Carlisle?"

"I thought that Aro was born in Italy?" he queried.

She sighed. "That's his story for now," she said dryly, "but he is really a whole lot older than he'd like to admit. I'll get to that part, I promise," she assured him before picking back up.

"Aros was the first born son; Delphina and Didyme were born two years later, and Artemis and Apollo born four years after that. The average age for a child to be Chosen by a Companion was thirteen, but no one thought it odd that he wasn't Chosen at that time. Eyebrows began to rise when he was fifteen and Delphina and Didyme were Chosen, then when he was nineteen and Artemis and Apollo were Chosen. He realized at that point that he had no hope of being Chosen and left the city in a rage, knowing that he would not ascend to power like he wanted."

"Why wasn't he Chosen?" Jasper asked.

The vampire bit her lip. "There were a couple of theories about that, but the real reason is that he was power hungry. If he had taken over the throne, he would have been as bad as or worse than the leader the one that Baron Valdemar had fled from." Her face grew pensive. "Artemis was aware of this and had been advising her mother of this."

Despite his skepticism, Edward ventured a question. "How did she know?"

"One of her Gifts was ForeSight; she could see the future," she responded readily.

"Wait, you said one of her Gifts? What were her other gifts," Nessie asked.

"She was unique for a Herald as she had a touch of all of the Mind Gifts. Most Heralds have only one, maybe two or three Gifts, but all of hers were active and at equal strength. Now, granted, they weren't very powerful, but she had enough Empathy—which is what Jasper has by the way—that she could sense the darkness that had taken over his thoughts."

Jasper looked shocked at her knowledge of his Gift. "Really?"

The vampire nodded. "Yes, and I can help you with it, if you want, but I still have a lot of ground to cover before we get to that." Jasper nodded as he settled back to listen to her continue her story. "So anyway, after Artemis and Apollo were Chosen, Aros left the Palace in a huff. They heard neither hide nor hair of him for ten years, but when he returned, he was different. None of the Heralds, save a select few that were gifted with ForeSight, had any idea of what was coming. One of those few was Artemis."

"What did she see?" Alice asked, intrigued.

The vampire sighed, her eyes focused on the past.

_Artemis awoke from the dream with a start. Uneasy with the vague images still flitting through her head, she MindCalled her Companion. _:Leto?:

:Yes, dearling?:_ the Companion answered instantly._

_Artemis thought for a couple of moments before shaking her head. _:Never mind. It was just a weird dream,:_ she finally replied._

_The Companion was notably silent for a moment before responding hesitantly, _:Are you sure?:

_Artemis' head rose from the pillow. _:What do you mean? Are you suggesting that this is ForeSight? Leto, you know that my ForeSight isn't at all strong.:_ She didn't know what to think. Something was telling her that Leto was about to offer some unsolicited advice, which went against anything Companions normally did._

:I'm not sure, but you've been having the same dream for two moons,:_ Leto pointed out._

_Artemis sighed. _:Now you offer me advice. All right, All Knowing One,: _she teased, _:What could this mean?:

:I don't know,:_ the Companion admitted reluctantly. _:It's nothing we've ever Seen before, but from what I've Seen and shown to the other Companions we came to an agreement. Premonitions of massive deaths and they are coming from the North.:

"_Well, you're a lot of help," Artemis uttered aloud._

:Hey!: _Leto retorted indignantly._

:I'm sorry, loverling. I just don't have a good feeling about this,: _Artemis tried to sooth her Companion._

_Leto sent her a little mental caress, telling her that she wasn't bothered. Artemis felt her mentally sigh before the Companion offered her some more advice, _:Listen, there's nothing that we can do about this now, so why don't you go back to bed. After all, we just got back to Haven today; I know that you are tired.:

_Artemis yawned and sent back her agreement as she looked at the sky showing the beginnings of a false dawn. _:Night, loverling,:_ she thought as she began to nod off._

_A fortnight later, Artemis' fears were coming to a reality as messenger upon messenger from the North descended onto Haven seeking help from the guard. The latest messenger was an old man from Berrybay. With tensions mounting, Artemis had decided to sit in on the Formal Audiences._

"_I don't know what they are, Your Majesty," the exhausted man was saying. He had ridden his horse to foundering to get to the Palace. "Every night for the past fortnight, people have disappeared from the village. Every morning we've found them, all dead, covered in strange bite marks."_

_Queen Lyra looked at the old man carefully. "Have you ever seen bite marks like this before?" she asked thoughtfully, trying to understand what kind of animal they could be dealing with._

"_No, milady. Not even those boggles that showed up after the Mage Storms created something like this. People have vanished from behind locked doors," he admitted._

_Queen Lyra looked at him, sensing the exhaustion that was taking over. "Thank you, I promise that I will do everything possible to get to the bottom of this problem," she reassured him as she motioned for the pages to take him to the guest quarters. She quickly dismissed everyone except the Heralds in the room and the members of the Council. She gazed at each of them in returning before the discussion began._

_After arguing for a few candlemarks, the decision was made to send a Herald in advance with a Guard troop following afterwards. With the decision made, the Council members exited the room, leaving the Heralds behind to discuss who could go. Artemis decided to preempt the discussion and after the last member of the Council left, she announced, "I'm going."_

_The Heralds looked taken aback for a moment before Lyra looked at her youngest daughter. "Absolutely not."_

_Artemis cocked an eyebrow. "Why not, Mother? I just got back from a two year circuit down in the Pelagirs Forest, so you can't say that I don't know what sort of boggles are out there. Plus, sense I have all of the MindGifts, so that will be helpful," she retorted. "I am a Herald first, your daughter second."_

_Lyra closed her eyes briefly before finally nodding. "Okay, you're correct, you are the best Herald for the job, but you are my darling daughter and I will fear for you." Her eyes got distant for a moment before smiling. "Trevelyn says for you and Leto to be careful," she said, relaying the message from her Companion._

_Artemis laughed as she turned to exit the room to pack. "You know me, Mother, I always am."_

"I take it that this all has a point?" Edward interjected wryly.

The raven-haired vampire just rolled her eyes of him. "I rarely tell a story that doesn't have meaning, Edward," she replied, keeping her calm. "All this information is pertinent to understanding Aro and discovering his weaknesses so we can defeat him. After all, the more you know about your enemy, the more you understand him, the better it is to anticipate his moves and defeat him."

Jasper smiled as he nodded his head. "She is right, you know. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm ready to learn more." The rest of the assembled group nodded as the vampire settled back on the couch once again.

* * *

**AN: **_Only 1 review for the last chapter? Was it really that bad? Please, let me know if y'all want me to continue this!_

_Soccer - :D I hope to get some inspiration soon, but Lexi has been notably absent the last couple of weeks and I think I may force her to work on TWAH. :D But when I get more written, I'll send them over!_


	4. The Pale Princess of the Palace Cracked

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own any characters from Twilight or from the Mercedes Lackey "Heralds of Valdemar" series. I only own Artemis, Apollo and Delphina and any other characters that you don't recognize. So, if you think I'm making any money from this, you are sadly mistaken. :p_

**AN: **_Okay. So it's been FOREVER since I've updated, but since my muse has decided to go to Bora Bora and _not _invite me, it's taken forever to get this done. So, this delves more into the Valdemar part of the equation, so I hope that it made it clear enough for those who have never read the series! If you have any questions, please review and I will answer them! Also, dialogue like this :dialogue: is Telepathic Speech between two people. :p The chapter title comes from the _Smashing Pumpkins _song "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning" again. :p I just love this song!!! But it's a very good line in this chapter. _

**Chapter 4**

**The Pale Princess of the Palace Cracked**

The Cullens stared at the raven-haired vampire expectantly as she settled back to continue her story. "So," she began. "The Queen gave her leave to Artemis to allow her to go north to discover what monster was scaring her people. If they'd only known what lay ahead before it was too late."

_It had taken a week of hard riding to get to the affected area. Artemis and Leto had traveled from dawn to dusk, choosing at night to stay in the Herald's Waystations so as not to be bombarded with questions of the rumors. Leto kept the other Companions apprised of their progress on a daily basis._

_On the seventh day, they finally rode into the affected area. _:Leto?: _Artemis asked hesitantly as her mood quickly shifted to nervousness._

:Something's not right here,: _the Companion responded somberly. _

:I know. It's too quiet. Almost like all the animals know there is a powerful predator around,: _Artemis responded, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. Reacting to the silence, she took a moment to bring up all her shields, both mental and magical, since she was graced with a touch of the Mage Gift as well. Leto stopped and held still for the seconds that it took Artemis to cement her safeguards into place._

:Chosen?:_ Leto said hesitantly. _:See if you can do a mental probe. Maybe that Animal Mindspeech can do us some good.:

_Artemis sent a feeling of agreement before sending her mind searching for a large enough animal that would give her an idea of what was going on. After Searching for a quarter candlemark, she sighed in frustration._ :I'm not finding _any_ animals,:_ she told her Companion in frustration._

:Nothing?: _Leto asked in shock._

:Not even a tree hare,: _Artemis confirmed as she looked at the quickly darkening sky._ :I don't like this. Where is the closest Waystation? I think we need to get indoors, and quickly.:

_Leto didn't respond directly. She just took off between the trees, running in a wild zigzag course that left Artemis clenching the saddle horn, until they skidded to a halt in front of a curiously built Waystation. _

_Artemis climbed out of the saddle and quickly pulled out her saddle bags. Opening her bags, she withdrew the firestarter and lit the end of the piece of lint that would drive out any pests. She opened the door to throw it in and was startled to see another door. So she stepped through the second door then shut it quickly. Once the lint had a chance to work, she gathered the rest of her bags to let herself in. Leto followed her in._

"_Leto? This is a very strange Waystation. I've never seen one like it," she mused aloud._

_Leto looked around. _:Oh. This is the Waystation that Heralds Talia and Kris stayed in when the worst snowstorm hit. I like this. No windows, only one way in and out. This is very defensible.:

_Artemis nodded her head. "Good. I'll feel better then," she commented as she began to organize their supplies._

_The following day, Artemis cautiously made her way outside. She had spent a restless night, her dreams turning into nightmares of sharp teeth and monsters. Needless to say, she had gotten little sleep. When Leto finally awoke and impressed on her the need to go outside, Artemis cautiously unbarred the doors, the thin light of dawn greeted them and Artemis was surprised by the abrupt change outside. The morning birds were warming up their voices to greet the sun._

_Startled, Artemis felt a little of her trepidation melt away. "If the birds feel safe, maybe I can get some information from them," she mused._

:Why don't you try that dearling,: _Leto advised._

_Artemis nodded and settled on the leaf-strewn ground, her back to the building. Quickly, she sent her mind out, searching for a creature of intelligence and almost immediately found a vorcel hawk. She opened her eyes as she heard it scream. In a few moments a hawk was sitting in front of her. As she looked at it, she realized from its size it was a hawk from the secretive Hawkbrothers of the Pelegirs Forest. A race that was tasked with the duty to clean up the pockets of stagnant magic caused by mage wars. The birds that they had created were more intelligent than a normal raptor. "Hello, what's your name?"_

:Huron,: _it Mindsent._

"_Well, Huron. I was wondering if you've seen a large predator around here."_

_The bird cocked its head to the side. _:All large animals are gone.:

_Artemis furrowed her brow. "Do you know why?"_

:No.:

_She sighed. "Thank you, Huron. If you or any of your fellows see anything, can you please let me or Leto know?"_

_The bird sent his assent and then flew away. Artemis continued to search with her mind, this time focusing on the ground dwelling creatures and to her surprise came across a _kyree._ Politely, she asked if she could meet with it and soon the large, intelligent animal that vaguely looked like an overgrown wolf was sitting in front of her. _:Welcome,: _Artemis sent._ :I am Herald Artemis.:

:Greeting, Herald. I am called Sasha. How can I be of assistance to you?:

"_I am investigating reports of some sort of monster plaguing this area. Have you noticed anything unusual?" she asked aloud, knowing that the _kyree_ would understand her._

_Sasha looked at her._ :Yes, Herald. I have come across a strange scent, but have been unable to determine what it causing it.:

_Artemis nodded her head. "What about the people that are being killed? Do you know anything about what killed them?"_

_The _kyree_ nodded its head. _:The same scent on them is what I've been tracking in the woods, Herald.:_ The _kyree_ paused for a moment._ :I shall help you in the hunt,:_ it assured her._

"_That would be much appreciated, Sasha. Where do you think we should start?"_

"You know," Bella interrupted. "This story is getting more and more like a fairy tale. Talking beasts and such."

Artemis smiled, standing to go look out the window as the first colors of the dawn began to seep into the night sky. "I know, that's the reason that I started the story out like I did. But think of it this way, to the people back in the first century the world today could be a fantastic tale. Be prepared, younglings, everything changes and as humanity grows and moves forward, so must you. It is the vampires who become stagnant that threaten to destroy us all," she cautioned as she picked up the thread of her story again.

_Artemis and Sasha had been searching for two days when they finally ran across fresh signs of the unknown creature. Sasha had proceeded her through the woods, on the scent of a fresh trail. Artemis was following quietly, stealthily, only as someone trained by the Hawkebrothers could. Walking through the trees. She was waiting patiently in a fork in a tree when she heard the frantic Mindcall from Sasha._

:Herald! Run!:

_Artemis quickly dropped out of the tree onto Leto's saddle. Once she was settled, her Companion took off at top speed, weaving through the trees as Artemis clung to the saddle horn. _:What? What is it?:_ she asked worriedly. _

:Something bad. It got Sasha. We need to get under cover,:_ Leto responded as a hawk screamed overhead._

_Artemis risked a glance up and noticed a vorcel hawk flying high above her. _:Huron? Is that you?:

:Yes. Three monsters come.:

:Where from?:_ Artemis Sent as she drew her sword and then leaned over Leto's neck._

:Look! Look!: _he said excitedly as he merged his mind with her._

_Artemis's grip on the saddle horn tightened as she was disoriented by the vision the bird was sending her. After a few moments, she adjusted to the dizzying effect. "Havens, Leto. They're faster than you. They are gaining on us fast. They look like humans in form and they sparkle."_

:Where from?: _Leto asked, her Mindvoice reflecting the stress of her exertion as she redoubled her efforts to get to the Waystation._

:Huron! Go get help,: _Artemis instructed the hawk._

_The bird sent its consent and winged away. As he left the area, Leto skidded to a halt in a clearing. _:They've got us surrounded,: _Leto told her Herald somberly._

_Artemis tightened her grip on her sword as she heard leaves rustling and three figures appeared around her. She squinted as the sunlight bounced off their skin, temporarily blinding her. As her eyes adjusted to the glare, Artemis looked at the creature in front of her directly. "Aros?" she questioned in shock._

"_Hello, Artemis," the creature returned. "Surprised to see me?"_

_Artemis stared in shock until Leto Mindspoke her, _:It is Aros,: _the Companion said, her mindvoice reflecting her shock._ :But, he has been changed, somehow. Keep on guard, Chosen.:

_Artemis stared at her brother. "What happened to you, Aro?" she questioned, unconsciously reverting back to her nickname for him._

"_I've found my destiny," he replied with a smirk. "I've come to take my rightful place on the throne and no _horse_ is going to stop me."_

_Before Artemis knew what was happening, the other two creatures with him had moved towards her and Leto. Artemis gasped as she swung her sword instinctively, only to watch her sword bounce off of their skin, inflicting nothing more than scratches that healed almost instantly. Caught off guard, the creatures wrenched her from Leto. She screamed in terror as her Companion, her soul sister went flying across the clearing into a tree._

_Aros laughed mockingly as Artemis struggled futilely against their superior strength, her sword falling with a dull thud to her feet. "So, _sister,_ are you going to join us willingly?"_

"_I would never join you in the destruction of all I believe in," she spat out, contempt lacing her voice._

_In a blur, Aros moved in front of her as her mind screamed out, trying to reach Apollo in Haven to let him know what was happening. "Fine, have it your way. Death is much more of a release," he purred as he opened his mouth to show her the sharp teeth that gleamed in the sunlight, before they descended to her neck. Artemis screamed in pain as fire seemed to race through her body and she collapsed._

The Cullens stared at her, caught up in her story until they sensed another vampire putting their senses on high alert. Artemis looked at them as they stared at her, beginning to form a circle around her. She smiled as she held out her hands in peace.

"Who is it?" Edward snarled as he backed her against the window. His mind raced as Alice's warnings reverberated in his head. _I keep getting flashes of this female vampire, but when I try to focus on her, I can't. She just pops up randomly. I've seen her on our side and on the side of the Volturi._

"I didn't lead anyone here on purpose," Artemis replied calmly, glad that she really didn't need to breathe since Edward had a death grip on her throat. She knew that she could remove him by force, but didn't want to. She needed to calmly reason with him. "I do know the vampire that is here, but he's of no threat to you. He is not part of the Volturi."

"We'll see," Edward growled as he loosened his grip and let her go.

Alice just shook her head and skipped to the door, opening it just as the other vampire stepped on the porch. Alice looked at him, understanding instantly that this vampire was related to the black haired one in the living room. He had that same black hair and golden eyes, but it was his bone structure that caught her attention the most. Their noses and cheekbones were the same exact shape.

As the two vampires entered the black hair mail looked at Artemis with a twinkle in his eye. "Artemis, you are a hard vampire to track down," he said with a smile.

The rest of the undead in the room looked at each other, comprehension dawning in their eyes. "You're Artemis?" Esme asked.

Artemis nodded. "Yes, and this is Apollo. My twin, in both life and death," she acknowledged.

"But that would make you unbelievably ancient," Nessie said in wonder.

Both of the ancient vampires laughed. "About 11,000 years, give or take millennia," Apollo answered before looking at his sister. "I take it our brother is up to no good?"

"Pretty much. I was just recounting the story of how this all started to them," she answered as she walked back to the couch to settle down. "I had just gotten to where Aros turned me."

Apollo smiled. "Then let's finish this story," he returned as he settled next to her.

Artemis nodded and looked at the group. "So, three days later, I awoke in the Herald's Waystation that I had been staying in. Leto was standing over me, concern evident in her bruised and battered body. I reacted with instinct when I saw the blood pumping through her veins. I almost attacked her."

Jasper looked at her. "What stopped you?" he asked, knowing full well how the blood lust took over the newly turned.

Artemis laughed. "She Mindblasted me. Granted, it was easier at that point since one of the side effects of vampire venom is that if you do have any Gifts, it blasts open the channels to the fullest extent. It burns them open and let me tell you, it hurts."

Carlisle looked like a light had gone on over his head. "That's why when a human that has some sort of ESP becomes stronger when they become vampires."

"Yes, it is. Anyway, after she broke me out of the lust, we went over everything that I was experiencing. She—being the wise being that she was—suggested that I hunt animals. I tried it, it worked and I've never feed off of a human. But Leto had a lot to do with that in the beginning. Again, that is a story for a different time. After the successful discovery, Leto informed me what was happening in Haven." She glanced at Apollo to pick up the story.

He cleared his throat and his deep, rich voice filled the room. "It was chaos in the city. Leto had managed to contact my Companion Zeus and we had some sort of warning. That combined with the faint warnings that I had gotten from Artemis, gave us a chance to best prepare. My heart was broken; the Death Bell had rung and I believed that she and Leto were dead. But our preparations were for naught. We had no clue what a vampire was, much less have a name for it and a way to fight one."

"And they still had no idea to their speed and strength," Artemis interjected.

"Wait," Jacob interrupted. "How was Leto still alive?"

"Companions are magical creatures and have some healing ability, so she was able to basically Heal herself," Apollo explained, nonplussed at the questioning. "That helped us somewhat because with their strength, we were able to hold off Aros and his friends for a couple of days. Still he managed to break down the mage shields that we had erected." His face grew serious. "We lost so many good people that day. So many friends…" he trailed off, lost in thought.

"It took me two days to get to the Palace. Leto had told me what was going on and I knew that I had to go. Even with her enhanced endurance, I knew that I was faster than her so I left her behind. I'll never underestimate her again. She was waiting for me at the gates to the city. You know, she never told me how she managed to do that."

Alice shook her head. "How did people react to seeing you alive?"

"The Palace was in chaos, no one even noticed me for a long time. That was actually a good thing since I looked like Aros. No one noticed until I got to the throne room…" her voice grew soft as the memories overwhelmed her. "Mother and Father were dead, killed by Aros. The guard of twenty Heralds surrounded them in a blood splattered mess. These were people I grew up with, went to school with, fought with. Then I turned to see Apollo to the side with the two vampires that had been with Aros feeding from him."

"We had retreated to the throne room to try to hold them off," Apollo picked up. "The doors blew open and Aros walked in. We were no match for him. The last thing I remember is being thrown across the room and as I lost consciousness seeing Aros kill our parents."

"When I saw them, draining the life out of Apollo, something in me snapped and I saw red," Artemis said.

"Blood lust?" Emmett hazarded.

Artemis shook her head. "No. One of my Gifts is Firestarting and it was now at full strength. I lost control and before I knew what was happening the two vampires were incinerated. Aros realized what I had done before I had and sped out of the room, saving him from my wrath. It took both Leto and Zeus to calm me down enough and by that time, he was gone. I looked around at the destruction left behind. Half of the Heralds were dead, Apollo and Didyme had been turned—it felt like the end of the world. I knew that none of us that survived could rule. I mean, who would listen to a monster, but thankfully, Delphina had been out on circuit when this happened. She assumed the throne.

"What happened to Aros after that?" Jacob queried.

"He disappeared. Once I explained to Apollo and Didyme what had happened, we went hunting him. During the hunt, Didyme took off on her own. It was thousands of years before I discovered that she had found Aros and was making it her own mission to save him. To somehow redeem him for murdering our family. We never found him, but an unfortunate side effect of his assault on the city was that there were many vampires now."

"Arte and I spent many years hunting them and giving them an option. Survive off of animals or be killed."

"So why help us?" Edward asked.

Apollo and Artemis exchanged a look before Apollo answered, "Aro has gotten comfortable in his power. Whilst we had hoped that age would dampen his desire for power, it is obvious that he is trying to revert back to his old ways."

"So why didn't you confront him a long time ago? You could have prevented all of this from happening!" Edward exclaimed belligerently.

"Edward!" Bella scolded. "They are offering to help us, so why are you acting like this?"

Artemis spoke up. "He's uneasy because our minds are shielded from him. He doesn't know if we are telling the truth and that's something that he hasn't had to deal with before." She turned to the uneasy vampire. "Would it ease your concern if I was to unshield my mind and let you read the thoughts there?" she offered.

"Yes, it would," Edward acknowledged.

Artemis nodded as she dropped her shield. "I'm going to reach out a mental hand to you." When Edward nodded she reached out carefully with her mind. _:Can you hear me in words, Edward?:_ she Mindspoke him.

Edward's eyes opened in shock and he then furrowed his brow, trying to respond the same way. _:Yes.:_

Artemis smiled. _:I had suspected as much. You are both a Thoughtsensor and a Mindspeaker. Those gifts are commonly found together. Here, look into my mind.:_

Edward did as he was told and soon was breaking his connection from her, his mind overwhelmed with the thoughts of 11,000 years worth of existence. "Wow," he said, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

"Don't worry about it," she reassured him. "It is good that you are cautious. It will save you end in the end."

"So how can you help us?" Rosalie asked.

Artemis and Apollo shared another glance before Apollo responded. "The first thing we want to do is to train everyone in the use of their Gift. Aros never went through training, so he doesn't know how to train someone to use their Gift to the fullest. That will give us an edge."

"We also have some old friends, some very old friends that Aro doesn't know about," Artemis said with a grin. "Between Alice and I we should be able to pinpoint a better timeline. Are you planning on confronting them here?"

"No," Carlisle said. "We want to get as close to the Artic Circle as possible."

"Good. Let's part for a bit, so everyone can assimilate what we've told you. We'll reconvene after nightfall to begin our planning," Artemis responded said as she and Apollo left the room quickly and quietly.

* * *

**AN: **_Before I forget, thanks so much to Axellia for betaing for me!!!! On to the review responses....Please read and review! My muse loves them and maybe that will tempt her back!!!_

_Soccer - I think I sent this to you. I hope I did or you can bop me upside the head!!! Geez, I haven't hide nor scale of Lexi in weeks, so maybe she is playing with your muse?? :D How's life been treating you???_

_IloveTwilight009 - New reviewer!!! Whoo-hoo! Thanks! I'm not abandoning this story, just the opposite, but my muse seems to have dropped all of my stories. Hopefully, after the holiday weekend, I'll be able to convince her to sit down and write! I think this should be around 10 chapters at most (but then of course, I thought my first story ever would be 20 chapters and it ended up being 51, so I may be way off on my estimate!). Thanks so much for the review!!!!_


	5. My Old Secrets Laid

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own any characters from Twilight or from the Mercedes Lackey "Heralds of Valdemar" series. I only own Artemis, Apollo and Delphina and any other characters that you don't recognize. So, if you think I'm making any money from this, you are sadly mistaken. :p_

**AN: **_To remind y'all, dialogue like this :dialogue: is Telepathic Speech between two people. :p_

**Chapter 5**

**My Old Secrets Laid**

When Artemis and Apollo walked outside, she turned to hug him. "Apollo, it's been way too long. How did you find me?" she asked.

Her twin smiled at her. "I was on my way to see you in the Amazon, when I was delayed."

Artemis furrowed her brow, sensing that something had happened of monumental importance. "Delayed by what? Or whom?" she queried.

"Zeus. And Leto."

"What?" Artemis exclaimed. "Why would Leto come to you and not me? She has always come to me if they choose to manifest themselves in the physical plane."

It was true. After the fight in the palace, when so many of the Heralds were killed, the Companions had been responsible for keeping the peace. Aros may have fled, but with all the vampires that were left in his wake, they had been kept busy tracking them down. After they had cleared out the evil, Artemis, Apollo and Didyme had taken it upon themselves to try to track down their power hungry brother and had left Valdemar.

Seventy years later, Zeus, Leto and Didyme's Companion Asteria had chosen to leave the physical plane. They had said that they were confident in their Chosen's ability to control the bloodlust and they were weary. They had made the promise that when times were trying, then they would find them, no matter where on the earth they were.

Leto had appeared to Artemis five times since then. All were times when Valdemar was being threatened. It was on the fourth appearance, when an influx of young vampires was threatening their home, that had made them reach the decision to magically shield their world and sink it beneath the ocean to ensure the safety of the land. Leto had only manifested herself once since that time, five thousand years ago when a rise in natural disasters had threatened to destroy the magical defenses they had put in place around Valdemar.

"She said that she could not keep up with you. You were already on your way here," Apollo explained. "She and Zeus have decided to appear in human form, as to not stick out in this world."

"Why are they here?"

Apollo sighed. "I fear that the consequences of this fight may extend to Valdemar."

"How is that possible?" Artemis shot back, panicked at the thought of her homeland in danger.

"Aros. If he wins this fight, it will give him the confidence to try to take over Valdemar again. How, I have no idea, but I have a feeling when they catch up with us, Zeus and Leto will be able to explain."

It was Artemis's time to sigh. "Then we need to get with our training. We also need to call in the troops. How many of the Protectors can we find?" she asked, referring to the Heralds that had become vampires during Aros's attack on the palace.

"I don't know," Apollo admitted. "We need to have a strategy meeting with the Cullens as soon as possible."

"How about we hunt and by the time we get back, night will have fallen," Artemis suggested. Apollo nodded and quickly they vanished in the trees.

* * *

After Apollo and Artemis had left, the Cullens had retreated to the study to discuss what they had learned. Edward, still shaken from delving into the mind of Artemis was leaning against the wall, Bella at his side. Carlisle and Esme sat on a couch, while Rosalie and Emmett paced around the room. Alice, Jasper, Jacob and Nessie had all taken rest in chairs scattered about the room.

"Can we trust them?" Rosalie was asking, clearly worried about the turn in events. Edward, Alice and Jasper all nodded.

"The feelings I get from them is like nothing I've ever felt before," Jasper responded. "I don't think I can fully explain it."

Carlisle smiled from his spot on the couch. "I can. As vampires age, we get more powerful. I can only imagine the power that Apollo and Artemis have."

"It's immense," Edward said quietly from his position. "Not only do they have the natural power that is granted to vampires, but the gifts that they possess are of unparalleled strength. If they can truly teach us some of that strength, we may be able to defeat Aro after all."

Bella looked shocked at the hope in Edward's voice. "I'm amazed," she stated. "Mr. Glass is Half Empty over here sounds hopeful. It truly is the end of the world."

Alice giggled at Bella's sally. "This does explain why in my visions I have seen her with Aro. It was visions of the past, not the future."

"I'm just concerned about how this affects the Packs," Jacob said.

Nessie patted his arm. "You heard them. They want to move the fight away from humans. That should make the Packs happy. My concern is even if they manage to teach every one of us to use what we have to the fullest; we are still too few in numbers to make the hundreds of vampires the Volturi will bring."

Esme stood. "We can not worry about that until we learn what we will actually be able to do. I suggest that we take a break and do not discuss this any further. We are reconvening tonight and perhaps we can get all our questions answered," she said quietly as Carlisle stood beside her and they moved out of the room.

The rest of the family saw the wisdom in Esme's suggestion. The time alone would give them all time to formulate their own questions.

* * *

By nightfall, Apollo and Artemis were back in the forest, gazing at the emerging stars. "Why haven't we done this more often?" Artemis asked her twin.

"What? Hunt together?" Apollo responded.

"Yes. We need to make it more of a priority to keep in touch more often. It need not be a disaster to bring us together."

"True. I remember the days with us on the hunt for Aros. The togetherness that we felt whilst on the road. How long has it been since you've been back to Valdemar?" he asked quietly.

"Too long. Close to two hundred years, I think." Artemis looked thoughtful. "I couldn't bring myself to go to Haven. We're part of their history, figures that are thought of with reverence."

"Same thing with me. After I revealed myself to the Protectors, I couldn't bring myself to see the city. So much has changed, yet stayed the same. It's strange."

"I wonder sometimes if we made the correct decision."

Apollo reached over and grasped her hand. "If we didn't make that choice, then you know that Aros would have continued to assault Valdemar. He would have won eventually," he reassured her.

"I know, but what happens after this fight is over? What happens if we have to kill Aros? Do we lift the wards? Do we raise our land from the bottom of the ocean?"

"I don't know, Apollo. I just don't know." Artemis looked at the sky one last time. "We'd better go in. You know that they will have questions for us."

Apollo smiled as he dropped out of the tree. "Then we will answer them."

Artemis just shook her head as she joined him on the ground and they proceeded to walk back to the house. Once inside, they found the Cullens waiting in the living room for them. Artemis and Apollo nodded to each other and stood before them. "Before we start talking strategy, does anyone have any questions?"

Nessie nodded. "I do. Even if we all learn to use our powers to the fullest, the Volturi still outnumber us significantly. Are we going to be able to overcome that?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Apollo answered her. "We have to try, though. We do have some connections as well, so we will be trying to find more allies." He looked at Artemis. _:Should we tell them about Zeus and Leto?:_

Artemis nodded slightly as she stepped forward. "Our Companions have also contacted us."

"They're still alive?" Bella interrupted in wonder. "Is that even possible?"

Artemis smiled. "Yes and no. No they are not still alive from when we became vampires. I don't know how to go into this without stepping on anyone's beliefs. They are messengers of the Gods. They come to us when the world is in peril." She stepped back to lean against the wall. "It is through them that we can contact some of our allies. I expect them to be arriving shortly. They will wait for your permission to enter the premises."

Carlisle nodded his head. "They have it."

Apollo lowered his head a moment. "I have let them know. They will be here within the hour."

"Any more questions?" Artemis asked.

Esme studied the raven haired twins. "What will this training entail?" she asked quietly.

_:Apollo. You can answer this. You were the one that was training to be a Gift teacher when we were turned.:_ Artemis told her twin.

Apollo looked at the group. "Basically, what we can do is test everyone for Gifts. Not just gifts that you know you have, but Gifts that you might possess. Once we determine which Gifts that you have, we will work with you to teach you how to use it. Basically, Gifts will fall into three different categories. First is Communication, which includes the telepathic speech between beings, being able to read minds or emotions, and being able to plant thoughts into people's minds. The next group is Seeing. That is basically being able to see in the past, present or future, and being able to See events that are taken place, even when you are not present. These two groups tend to work together a lot. The third group is rarer. We call them Fetching. This group includes being able to move objects through space. For instance, being able to bring a ring to you that you left hundreds or even thousands of miles away. This also includes Firestarting."

Carlisle looked intrigued. "Your analysis seems very scientific," he observed.

Artemis and Apollo laughed. "Oh, it is," Artemis agreed. "It was known to our world that the people of Valdemar had made quite a science of mind gifts. Enough that a well trained Herald could battle a Mage and win." She shrugged. "It was what set us apart from the rest of the world. It's what will still set up apart from Aro."

Carlisle cocked his head. "But Aro has made of habit of collecting people with unusual talents to him. So one would stand to reason that we would be fighting with similar gifts."

"True," Artemis conceded. "But, we have one thing that Aro will never have. Companions. Our Companions are indescribably strong and have access to information that mortals should never have."

Emmett laughed. "Good thing we are not mortals."

"Exactly. We can find more information out when Zeus and Leto arrive. I suggest we take a breather until then. If I know Leto, she will grill us for hours before even taking a breath," Artemis advised.

The group nodded and scattered to various parts of the house. Artemis and Apollo both retreated to the forest, a place that they always felt at home. They sat side by side, not saying anything, just enjoying being together and studying the stars.

_:Look, Orion and Scorpius. Constellations that are dedicated to us, sister.:_

Artemis smiled as she stared at the grouping of starts. _:It's hard to believe that. Can you also believe that we may live to see the death of those stars that make them up? I wonder sometimes if I am meant to live after Aros is dealt with.:_

_:I know what you mean, sister-mine. I had assumed that the older we got, the easier it would be to forget what brought us here.: _Apollo picked up her hand, affected by her sudden melancholy.

_:But as the years go by, the memories stay strong. You know, I can tell you entire centuries that I do not remember a single thing in, but every single event of my life before Aros made us into immortal beings is engraved in my head.:_

"And that's why we go centuries without seeing each other," Apollo said aloud softly. "I do believe that we are about to have company."

Artemis looked up to see that he was correct, Edward was approaching them. Trust her brother to always know what was in store; he did have the Gift of Fore-Sight. "Something troubling you, Edward?" Artemis said casually as she motioned him to sit with them, her Empathy telling her that he was deep in thought about something.

"Actually, yes. You stated that your Companions were bound to you, like soul mates. But how can that binding still be in place?" Edward asked seriously.

_:Apollo, you might want to leave. I feel that he will be more comfortable talking about this with me in private.:_ she advised her twin. Apollo just nodded to them as he quietly left. "Why don't you tell me what you really feel? I'm not here to destroy anyone's beliefs, so I can only tell you my experience."

Edward seemed to be searching for words. "Doesn't becoming a vampire cost you your soul?" he finally said.

"Honestly, I think that depends on the person. Yes, both Apollo and I were soul-bound to our Companions, yet that bond did not break when we became vampires. From what I have seen in my life, it seems that becoming the vampire does not make you lose your soul, but it's how you react to the change that makes a difference. I have observed many a human that I would feel have less of a soul than some vampires that I've known. I can't make you believe anything Edward. You have to decide that by yourself." Feeling that she had left the young vampire with a lot to think about, she quietly got up and retreated to the house, to await the arrival of her own soul mate.

* * *

**AN:**_ I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I updated. It's been way too long since I've written anything, but I finally got a bit of inspiration for this chapter at least! I'm not going to lie and say that it might not be awhile before I post another chapter, but I promise that I will finish this story!_

_Soccer - It's been way too long since we've talked, but my life has been, well INSANE! Okay. better now. How've ya been?_


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